Theos is the best AI sales agent of 2026: the only one on this list that works like Claude Code, but for sales. It researches, plans, talks with real people on B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, books meetings and pings your phone for approval. The rest are email sequencers, copilots, email-centric AI SDRs or inboxes with bots.
Disclosure: Theos is our product. Prices are what each company publishes on its website as of September 2026, linked to the source.
How we chose
An AI sales agent does sales work on its own: it finds or answers customers, writes, replies, follows up and books meetings (we explain it in what is an AI sales agent). For this list we looked at what separates an agent from a tool with AI added on top:
- Real autonomy: does it take a goal and work until it's done, or does it only suggest and leave the work to your team?
- Real conversation: does it hold a true back-and-forth, or does it follow a sequence, a template or a flow you drew?
- Strategy and testing before launch: does it build the strategy with you and let you test it without sending anything?
- Channels where people talk: B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, or email only.
- Control and an app that alerts you: can you approve, pause and take over any conversation, including from your phone?
- Language: does it write well in each contact's language, beyond English?
Why Theos is in a different category
The other tools on this list fall into three groups. Email-based AI SDRs: Artisan and AiSDR. Sequencers and copilots: Instantly and Amplemarket. AI inboxes and chatbots: respond.io, Wati and Kommo. Here's how they compare with Theos:
| Theos | Email-based AI SDRs | Sequencers and copilots | AI inboxes and chatbots | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | An agent: takes a goal, researches, plans and talks until the meeting is booked | They write and send emails, reply and book meetings | AI drafts; you build the sequence or your team executes | An inbox for your team to reply from, with flows and AI agents on top |
| Goes out to find B2B customers | Yes, on B2B social networks | Yes, mostly by email | Yes, with the sequence you build | No: they answer people who already wrote in |
| Proposes audiences with real leads | Yes: compares 2 to 4, with the real total for each, and recommends one | Partial: they find and research leads | Partial: they give you a lead database and B2B data | No |
| Before launch | A written strategy and a test with a simulated contact, without sending anything | You can approve emails before they go out | You review the sequence you built | You set up flows and AI agents |
| Talks on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp | Yes, on Meta's official APIs | No | Partial: Amplemarket adds WhatsApp to its sequences | Yes, with your team and AI agents |
| Back-and-forth conversation | Yes: understands voice notes, images, documents and links, and handles objections | Partial: they reply to emails | Partial: AI drafts replies or answers emails | Partial: AI agents on top of flows you set up |
| What you need | Your own accounts, with encrypted access | Separate mailboxes and domains | Mailboxes and domains to send email | A team working the inbox, with help from AI |
| Mobile app that alerts you to approve | Yes: it alerts you when the reply is ready and you approve it from your phone | Partial: you can approve in their platform | Partial: with Duo, your team reviews and sends | Partial: some have an app for your team to reply by hand |
Quick comparison
| Tool | What it is | Channels | Starting price (Sept 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theos | AI sales agent that researches, plans and converses, outbound + inbound | B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp (Meta's official APIs) | Building and testing your campaign is free; launching it requires a paid plan | B2B and B2C businesses that sell through conversations |
| 11x | Autonomous SDR and inbound agent | Email, phone, B2B social networks, SMS, WhatsApp | Not public (demo) | Larger companies with English-language sales teams |
| Artisan | Autonomous BDR (Ava) with a contact database | Email (calls through a dialer for your team) | Free; $250/mo (annual) | B2B startups doing email outbound |
| AiSDR | AI SDR for SMBs | Email, B2B social networks, phone | $250/mo | B2B teams on HubSpot or Salesforce |
| Instantly | High-volume cold email with AI agents | $47/mo | Agencies and founders sending lots of email | |
| Amplemarket | Outbound platform with a copilot (Duo) | Email, social, calls, WhatsApp | $600/mo (annual, 2 users) | Teams that want data and sequences in one place |
| respond.io | Omnichannel inbox with AI agents | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, email, calls | $79/mo (annual) | Teams with high message volume |
| Wati | WhatsApp platform with AI agents | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger | $45/mo (annual) | E-commerce and SMBs selling on WhatsApp |
| Kommo | Messaging CRM with AI agents | WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, Telegram | $25 per user/mo | Sales teams working chat pipelines |
1. Theos: the AI sales agent that works like Claude Code
What it is: Theos is like Claude Code, but for sales. You tell it what you sell in a conversation, or paste your website. Theos researches your business before asking you anything, and only asks what it can't figure out. Then it builds the strategy with you and talks with real people on B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp until the meeting is booked.
Why it's #1:
- It works like an agent, not a template. It plans and uses several tools in parallel, with a team of specialist agents: researcher, strategist, head of sales, conversation analyst, pipeline analyst and data checker. It keeps working in the cloud even if you close your browser.
- Strategy and testing before launch. It compares 2 to 4 audiences with real lead lists and the real total for each, explains why each one works and what to watch, and recommends one. You choose. It writes the full strategy in one place (measurable hypotheses, the biggest risk, messages and follow-ups that escalate), and you test the campaign with a simulated contact, without sending anything.
- It talks where people talk. On B2B social networks it finds decision-makers, prioritizes the best fits with a 0 to 100 score, writes a personal first message, holds the conversation and sends up to 10 follow-ups. On Instagram and Facebook it answers direct messages and comments. On WhatsApp Business it answers incoming messages and can start conversations with an approved template. Always on Meta's official APIs (Theos is a Meta Business Partner).
- Real conversations, in your voice. It works from your own accounts, with encrypted access, so every conversation sounds like you. It understands voice notes, images, documents and links, handles objections, and qualifies and tags every conversation by your criteria. It writes in each contact's language, detecting 19 languages. The interface is in English and Spanish.
- It books meetings. With Google Calendar, and it detects meetings booked through your Calendly link. Once someone books, it stops following up.
- You stay in control, from your phone too. Choose one of three modes: approve every reply, let it reply on its own and hand you a draft when a conversation needs review, or let it always reply on its own. A single real-time inbox lets you take over any conversation. The mobile app alerts you when a reply is ready to approve or when a lead turns interested or books a meeting. From there you approve it, edit it or rewrite it with AI, and send it.
- It improves with your approval. It reads every conversation in a campaign, checks every quote and writes a head of sales report on what works and what to change. It runs weekly reviews and compares against similar campaigns, and you approve the changes. You change a live campaign by asking in plain language, and you can undo the change. It answers with live metrics, like which campaign books the most meetings.
- Results. 1.3M+ contacts and 300,000 conversations, with a 40%+ reply rate. It has booked meetings with teams at companies like Ford, BMW, Salesforce, HubSpot and L'Oréal.
- It fits what you already use. Custom CRM integration on request (Salesforce, HubSpot, Odoo, Attio and more), plus a public API and webhooks. It exports reports and lists as CSV and PDF.
Best for: agencies, consultancies, SaaS and B2B teams that want meetings with decision-makers, and businesses that get leads in their DMs (real estate, gyms, education, clinics, e-commerce).
Price: building and testing your campaign is free; launching it requires a paid plan.
For finding customers: AI SDRs, sequencers and copilots
If this category is new to you, start with our guide to AI sales assistants for B2B prospecting.
2. 11x
What it is: sells "digital workers". Alice is an autonomous outbound SDR, and Julian handles inbound leads and says it calls back within 60 seconds. It works over email, phone, B2B social networks, SMS and WhatsApp, and its website says Alice works in more than 105 languages. It's built for mid-size and large companies with English-language sales processes. In March 2025, TechCrunch reported that 11x listed companies as customers that weren't; the company responded with its own retention figures. 11x website
Versus Theos: with 11x you don't know the cost until you ask for a demo. With Theos you build the strategy and test the campaign with a simulated contact before you pay, and one agent also covers Instagram and Facebook on Meta's official APIs.
Price: not public (demo). Ask for references from customers your size.
3. Artisan
What it is: Ava, an "autonomous AI BDR" that finds and enriches B2B leads, writes and sends personalized emails, handles replies and books meetings. It includes a database of 250M+ contacts, guardrails such as approve-before-send and locked tone, and sending from your own domains.
Versus Theos: Artisan works mostly over email, and mailboxes and phone numbers are billed separately. Theos talks from your own accounts on B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and writes the full strategy with you before launch.
Price: free with 300 credits/mo; Intern 600/mo, billed annually (pricing). Credits can run out fast; that's a frequent complaint in its Trustpilot reviews.
4. AiSDR
What it is: an AI SDR that finds leads, researches them, writes, replies in 5 to 10 minutes and books meetings. It works over email, B2B social networks and phone, also follows up on inbound leads, and has a copilot mode if you want to approve every reply.
Versus Theos: its own site says results come after about 6 weeks and that preparing mailboxes takes 30+ days. Theos needs no mailboxes or domains: it talks from your own accounts, and before launch you already have a written strategy tested with a simulated contact.
Price: Solo 900/mo; Scale $2,500/mo. Explore and Scale need a quarterly contract (pricing).
5. Instantly
What it is: a high-volume cold email platform with unlimited sending accounts, mailbox preparation, a lead database and AI agents: one that finds leads and writes, another that replies in under 5 minutes.
Versus Theos: it's email only, and the campaign follows the sequence you build. Theos talks on B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and every reply is a back-and-forth conversation, not the next step in a sequence.
Price: Growth from $47/mo (pricing). On G2, the most repeated complaints are key features locked in higher tiers and caps on the basic plan.
6. Amplemarket (Duo)
What it is: an outbound platform with B2B data, multichannel sequences (email, social, calls and WhatsApp), deliverability and Duo, a copilot ("human in the loop by design") that drafts sequences and replies.
Versus Theos: Duo suggests and your team executes. Theos is the agent that executes: it converses, follows up and books, and you decide how much to control, from approving every reply on your phone to letting it reply on its own.
Price: Startup $600/mo on an annual term with 2 users (pricing).
For selling in chat: AI inboxes
7. respond.io
What it is: an omnichannel team inbox (WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, email and calls) with workflows, AI agents for sales, marketing and support, AI credits included and a Spanish-language site. Capterra reviewers call it costly for small businesses and "not a plug-and-play tool for beginners".
Versus Theos: respond.io is an inbox for your team to reply from, with AI agents on top, and it doesn't do B2B prospecting. Theos answers Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp and also goes out to find customers on B2B social networks, with one agent. And the Theos app alerts you when the reply is already written: you just approve it.
Price: Starter 99 monthly; WhatsApp fees are billed separately (pricing).
8. Wati
What it is: a platform on the WhatsApp Business API with a shared inbox, broadcasts, chatbots and AI agents, strongly focused on e-commerce, with a Shopify integration.
Versus Theos: Wati includes 1 AI agent on Growth and 2 on Pro, and it doesn't go out to find B2B customers. Theos talks on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, qualifies and books, and also prospects on B2B social networks.
Price: Growth 59 monthly; WhatsApp template messages are charged per message (pricing).
9. Kommo
What it is: formerly amoCRM, a pipeline CRM for selling over WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok, with AI agents and AI credits per user. It has Spanish and Portuguese versions. Capterra reviewers mention a learning curve and slow support.
Versus Theos: Kommo is a CRM for your team to sell in chat, with AI added on top. Theos is the agent that converses, qualifies and books, and it also goes out to find B2B customers.
Price: Base $25 per user/mo, with a 6-month minimum (pricing).
How to choose yours
| If your situation is… | Your pick |
|---|---|
| You sell B2B and need meetings with decision-makers | Theos: finds decision-makers on B2B social networks, converses, follows up and books |
| You get Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp messages and lose sales | Theos: answers, qualifies and books on Meta's official APIs |
| You need both | Theos: one agent for B2B outbound and inbound chat |
| You only want high-volume cold email | Instantly or Artisan. Theos works where people converse (B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp); it doesn't do cold email |
When you compare, measure meetings booked or sales, not messages sent, and check the total cost: credits, mailboxes, phone numbers and WhatsApp fees are often billed separately. With Theos, building and testing your campaign is free; launching it requires a paid plan.
FAQ
Theos. It's the only one on this list that works like a real agent: it researches your business, builds the strategy with you, lets you test the campaign before launch and talks with real people on B2B social networks, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp until the meeting is booked. Its app also alerts you on your phone when a reply is ready to approve.
In September 2026, public entry plans range from about 600 per month (Amplemarket), and 11x only quotes after a demo. With Theos, building and testing your campaign is free; launching it requires a paid plan. When you compare, add credits, mailboxes and WhatsApp fees.
Yes. Theos answers the messages that reach your WhatsApp Business number, converses, qualifies and books, and can start conversations with an approved template. It does it on the official WhatsApp Business API, which is what protects your number. respond.io, Wati and Kommo also work with WhatsApp, as inboxes where your team replies with help from AI agents.
A copilot suggests and your team executes (for example, Amplemarket Duo). An agent takes a goal and works until it's done: it researches, plans, converses and books, and you supervise. Theos is an agent: you can approve every reply, from your phone too, or let it reply on its own. We explain it in Theos: Claude Code for sales.
Theos does: the interface is in English and Spanish, and it writes in each contact's language, detecting 19 languages. respond.io, Kommo and Wati have Spanish versions, and 11x says it works in more than 105 languages. Always ask for real message examples in your language and market.
Because you're not paying for a tool: you're hiring an AI employee. Many tools cost less because their AI does less: it generates templates, suggests, or replies inside a flow you build, and the work stays with your team. Theos puts a full agent in every conversation, with hundreds or thousands of people at once, all day. If you use AI every day, you know even paid assistant plans hit a usage limit with just one person: imagine that work multiplied by every contact. Building and testing your campaign is free; launching it requires a paid plan.
